Wild At Heart
by xperimental
Summary: AU. Very AU. The Carlin family gets a new addition.
1. Wolf Like Me

**Title: Wild At Heart  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.  
Pairing: Spencer/Ashley  
Summary: AU. Very AU. The Carlin family gets a new addition.**

Chapter 1 - Wolf Like Me

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Spencer. Spencer was an average girl, living with her average family in an average small town. She was your typical all American girl, except for one small difference; she was gay. So very, very gay. However, living in a small town in Ohio and afraid of being the only gay in the village, Spencer had learned to hide it well.

"Spencer, can you take Lance for a walk?" her mother called up the stairs, one fateful afternoon. Lance was Spencer's seven year old Husky, who had been named after her favorite N'Syncer. When all the girls were pretending to marry Justin Timberlake in the playground, Spencer was pretending to crush on Lance. Go figure. Lance was her beloved pet and she would've gladly taken him out for a walk any other time. Not, however, when she was in the middle of reading some particularly smutty Serena/Blair fanfiction.

"Now?" she whined. "Uh, I can't…I'm doing homework." Well, in a way, she was.

Spencer barely had time to remove her hand from her pants and minimize the window before her mother barged into her room. "Spencer, you're always locked away up here doing homework." Paula may as well have put air quotes around her words. "You can afford to take a break for twenty minutes. Now hurry up." She tossed Lance's harness and leash at her daughter. "It'll be dark soon."

Spencer slumped in her desk chair and waited until her mother left the room to bring the window back up and save the story into her favorites to read later. Then she shut down the computer, just in case her annoying brother decided to come snooping.

"Come on, Lance," she called to the large dog who was sleeping on her bed. He patiently waited while Spencer strapped him into his harness, his bushy tail wagging lazily. "Let's go for a walk."

-

It wasn't that she was lazy, it was just that she had better things to do than walk her dog. Spencer couldn't remember the last time she had taken Lance for a walk and, feeling guilty about it, she decided that she would make this one extra long to make up for it. And it wasn't like she wasn't enjoying herself, out in the fresh, crisp air with Tegan & Sara blasting through her headphones. It was rather relaxing.

"It's alright, Lance," she said absently to her dog who was balking as they approached a small creek. "It's just water."

But the big dog wouldn't budge.

Spencer sighed and looked back at her dog, who had his tail between his legs. She realized with a start that they had wandered into the woods at the back of a neighboring property. "What's the matter?" she asked, concerned by Lance's uncharacteristically skittish behavior. She pulled her headphones down off her ears and now could hear Lance's whimpers…and the low growling coming from the woods that surrounded them.

Spencer tensed, scanning the bushes for any sign of movement. _This is just great, first time in ages I take him for a walk and I'm going to get eaten by a bear for my trouble. _She could barely contain her gasp when she spotted the first pair of glowing yellow eyes emerge from the darkness.

She swallowed hard, silently telling herself not to panic, and tried to get her bearings. Fortunately, she realized that she wasn't in as unfamiliar territory as she had first thought. The Reynolds' farm wasn't that far away, they could probably make it if they ran.

"Run, Lance, run!" she yelled, making a break for it. Lance tore ahead of her, essentially dragging the blonde along as he fled. Spencer's stride faltered as she tried to keep up with the dog and when her foot caught on a exposed root, she tripped and fell heavily to the ground. Lance's leash flew from her hand, he didn't even look back at his fallen master.

Spencer groaned, squeezing her eyes shut, trying not to pass out from the sharp pain radiating from where her head had connected with a rock. She struggled against nausea and rolled onto her back, momentarily forgetting the danger she had been running from. She remembered all too quickly when a blast of hot, rancid breath hit her cheek.  
_  
Please be Lance, please be Lance._ Baby blue eyes flew open, only to snap shut as her vision swum. It had only been a quick glance but it had been more than enough to confirm to her that the animal, sizing her up, definitely was not Lance. She opened her eyes again, slower this time, to find herself staring into the salivating jaws of a large gray wolf. And the assorted yips and growls she could her coming from the area around her, let her know that he wasn't the only one.

The wolf's lips pulled back into a vicious snarl, exposing it's deadly fangs. Frozen with fear, Spencer could do nothing but squeak when it's paw pressed heavily against her chest, pining her down. Spencer closed her eyes again and resigned herself to the fact that she was about to die. _I can see the headlines now 'Local Closeted Lesbian Mauled To Death By Wolves'. God, I hope they don't figure out the password to my computer._ If anybody discovered her extensive collection of girl on girl porn, she would die of embarrassment…you know, if she hadn't already been killed by the wolves.

Another growl cut through the air, this one was different, louder and more distinctive, and just like that, the paw weighing down on Spencer's chest was removed. Spencer opened her eyes again, seeing the wolf, that had been about to eat her, cowering and backing away as another blurry figure, approached. As it got closer, Spencer realized that it was a girl. A very hot and very naked girl.

The girl regarded Spencer curiously. Tilting her head from side to side, trying to figure out what this strange creature before her was. _I'm dead and this is heaven,_ Spencer thought as the girl cautiously approached her, sniffing the air.

They locked eyes, brown meeting blue for the first time and Spencer was taken aback by the sheer intensity in the brunette's eyes and couldn't bring herself to look away. Something was happening, something important, they could both feel it, even if only one of them could recognize it.

Spencer whimpered as the mysterious girl leaned in and started tenderly lapping at the wound on her head, trying to soothe the painful bump with her tongue. The was a rustle when one of the other wolves tried to approach. The change in the previously docile girl was startling. She turned on the only wolf that was brave, or stupid, enough to approach her, snarling and snapping with a terrifying ferocity.

The wolf yelped and scuttled away to join the rest of the pack.

Just as Spencer had gathered the courage to say something, a loud shot rang out in the distance. The girl stiffened and turned tail, fleeing back into the woods with the rest of the wolf pack.

"Spencer!" A vaguely familiar voice called out, followed by an accompanying bark. "Spencer, are you out here?"

"Y-yeah," Spencer stuttered weakly. Realizing that she would never be hear that way, she cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm over here!"

Lance found her first, jumping on her and slobbering all over her face happily. Behind him was a middle aged man wearing coveralls with his rifle clutched in one hand.

"Thank god, I found ya," he breathed as he helped the fallen girl to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"I-I think so," the blonde stuttered, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened.

"I can't tell ya how scared I was when Lance here came running up to me. I knew he wouldn't be out here on his lonesome so I came lookin' for ya. What happened, did ya take a tumble?" He gestured to the growing lump on Spencer's temple.

"There were wolves-" Spencer felt like an idiot just saying it.

"Damn bastard things have been hanging around for weeks," Mr Reynolds said in disgust. "They've taken three of my sheep and the idiot rangers haven't damn done a thing about 'em."

"I didn't even know that we had wolves around here."

"Eh, it's that global warming, messing everything up," the portly man explained as he escorted Spencer and her dog back up to his house. "They're lookin' for food, they can't find enough of it in the woods so they're comin' closer and closer to towns."

"So they've been around here for a while?" Spencer asked curiously. "Have you ever seen-" She stopped herself. "Nevermind."

"I'll drive ya home," Mr Reynolds said firmly, guiding Spencer to his red pickup. "Help ya explain what happened to your mother."  
_  
Oh, this should be good._

-

Overwhelmed with guilt, and after thoroughly checking Spencer over, Paula agreed to let Spencer choose what they had for dinner -pizza- and what movie they watched that family night -Bring It On-. Spencer figured that she could milk this whole 'I sent my only daughter out to be attacked by wolves' guilt trip for at least a month.

But still, Spencer couldn't totally enjoy it. She couldn't get that girl off her mind. Who was she? Where did she come from? So many questions and no answers.

A knock on her door drew her out of her brooding.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Arthur stood in her doorway, looking at her with fatherly concern.

"Mom said it was just a bump. I don't even have a concussion," she answered flippantly.

Arthur smiled and took a seat on the end of her bed. "I know. You've been awfully quiet. Would you like to talk about what happened?"

Spencer shrugged. "It's not about that. Well, it is, but not in the way that you think." _He probably thinks I've got post traumatic stress or something._ She released a huge breath. "There was a girl."

"A girl?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"When I got attacked."

"Wait." Arthur frowned, trying to process what his daughter was talking about. "She watched you get attacked and she didn't do anything about it?"

Spencer shook her head and immediately regretted it as it brought back the dull ache. "No…she was with the wolves…like she was one of them. But human." _Okay, even I think that I sound crazy.  
_  
Arthur grimaced. "Like she'd been living with them?"

"Yes!" Spencer exclaimed, relieved that her father seemed to believe her.

"So what did she look like?"

"Oh." Spencer bought up the image of the girl that now seemed to be burned into her brain. "Okay, um, she had really long dark hair but it was all, like, dreadlocked and, um, brown eyes and short, I think shorter than me, I couldn't really tell. She was always on all fours. She was around my age too and, uh…naked," she finished in a small voice, blushing furiously. _Very, very naked.  
_  
"Right. Well, we should alert the authorities."

"No!" Spencer panicked, grabbing her father's arm. "What if I was imagining it? Or hallucinating, I did hit my head, you know."

Arthur pursed his lips, thinking it over. "Fine, we'll keep it quiet. For now. I'll do some digging around, try to find out if there have been any more sightings and check through the missing persons reports tomorrow, see if there are any girls that fit that description. If we get a match, we'll reassess. Okay?"

Spencer nodded, this time not caring about the pain it caused her, and engulfed her father in a hug. "You're the best dad ever!"

-

Working in social services in Sheridan county, wasn't exactly a job that moved at break neck speeds. So in between his 10am and 2pm appointments, Arthur had plenty of time to look into Spencer's mysterious Wolf Girl. He was checking through recent missing persons reports for possible matches when his phone rang.

"Arthur Carlin," he answered it, holding the phone up to his ear with his shoulder.

"Art, it's Ralph. Bob needs you to come down to County General, right away."

"The hospital, why?" Arthur asked, already slipping on his coat.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Ralph answered. "Just get here. You don't want to miss this."

"I'm on my way."

-

It was only a twenty minute drive to the hospital. Hell, it took twenty to get anywhere in Sheridan county. Twenty minutes to get to the strip mall, twenty minutes to get to the train station, twenty minutes to get to the only McDonalds in a fifty mile radius, twenty minutes…well, you get the point.

Once he arrived at the hospital, Arthur approached his scruffy co-worker, the young man's flaming ginger hair was hard to miss in the sterile white waiting room. "Ralph, where's Bob?"

"In there," Ralph said, nodding to the closed door he'd been casually trying to eavesdrop against. "He should be out pretty soon."

"So now that I'm here, do you want to explain what's going on?"

"Most definitely." Ralph rubbed his hands together eagerly. "You know, how the farmers have been complaining about the wolves for a while now."

Arthur suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. "Yes."

"Well, the rangers finally got off their asses to do something about it. The plan was to tranq the wolves and relocate them. Or at least it was until they found her."

"Her?" Arthur tried to sound surprised.

Ralph nodded and cracked open the door he'd been leaning against, allowing Arthur to see inside where several nurses and orderlies were struggling to pin down a dark haired young girl so that a doctor could inject her with what Arthur only imagined to be some kind of sedative. "Her." Ralph pulled the door closed, before he could get into trouble for peeking again.  
_  
I think I've found Spencer's mystery girl._ "Wow."

Ralph smirked. "And that's not even the best part." He held up the gold chain with a charm that said Ashley, attached to it. "She was wearing this around her neck when they found her. You know what this means, right?"

Of course Arthur knew what it meant, he wasn't stupid. "Let's not jump to conclusions, Ralph."

"Oh, come on, Art. It's hardly a leap, more like a tiny step," Ralph said, unaware that the door had opened behind him.

"Regardless," said the distinguished older man, who had just exited Ashley's room. "We are still awaiting positive confirmation of the girl's true identity."

Ralph's blush clashed terribly with his red hair. "Of course," he muttered. "Sorry boss."

"Arthur," Bob greeted the other man warmly. "The doctor should be out shortly, until then I suggest that we take a seat."

"I don't understand why this is our problem," Ralph complained as he took a seat on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. "Isn't this a matter for the sheriff's department?"

"And what would they do with her? Hmm? Throw her in a cell down at the county lock up? That's the last thing she needs," Bob snapped at the inexperienced young social worker.

"Well, we're not exactly equipped to handle something like this either," Ralph pointed out.

"That's why I called Arthur down here." The old man turned in his seat to face Arthur. "You've encountered something like this before, have you not?"

"Briefly." Arthur frowned. "But it was twenty years ago, when I was working with the Peace Corps at an orphanage in India. But I'm hardly an expert."

"You once told me about a thesis you did on Amala and Kamala, the wolf girls of India."

"That was a long time ago, Bob." Arthur wondered if he still had his copy the diary of Joseph Singh laying around.

"Even so, you're still more knowledgeable in this case than any of us."

Bob was interrupted by the door to the girl's room opening and a harried looking doctor exiting through it. The three men stood as the doctor approached them.

"Doctor," Bob addressed him formally. "How is she?"

"We've finally managed to get her sedated," the doctor informed them. "And I've put a rush put on her blood tests." Arthur noticed that the doctor was cradling his freshly bandaged hand. The wound was fresh and blood was already starting to soak through the white cotton. "I can only assume that you'll be placing her in an institution."

Arthur grimaced at the man's snotty tone. "And why would we do that?"

"Because she's mad." A little bit of stress crept into the doctor's voice. "She was trying to attack anyone who came near her."

"Perhaps that's because she thought that you were trying to attack her," Arthur responded angrily. "And the girl is sixteen, institutionalizing her now is condemning her to one for the rest of her life. They wouldn't try to help her, they'd just pump her full of these drugs you seem to be so fond of." If there was one thing that Arthur hated, it was the way too many troubled kids were locked away just because someone decided that they would be too much work to try and help.

"Oh really." The doctor clearly didn't appreciated having his practices being challenged. "And how would you suggest we handle her?"

Arthur sighed wearily and looked around at his companions. "Has anyone tried talking to her?"

-

Arthur took a moment to prepare himself before entering the girl's room. He knew exactly how much was weighing on this first meeting and how Ashley reacted to him. If he screwed up or accidentally provoked Ashley in any way and she attacked…they would have no choice but to send her away.

"Hello, Ashley," he greeted gently, keeping near the door on the other side of the room, not wanting to look like he was cornering her in any way.

Ashley eyed this new stranger warily, something about him smelt very familiar to her but she couldn't quite place it.

"My name is Arthur, do you mind if I sit?" he continued, keeping his voice, and body language as unthreatening as possible.

He didn't wait for a reply. In fact, he was already half way into sitting on the chair when he was asking the question. There was still at least five feet of space in between where he was sitting and the girl on the bed, he didn't want to encroach on her personal space. "I think you met my daughter yesterday. Apparently you saved her life, so thank you for that."

Ashley was still glaring at him, however she had visibly relaxed as he spoke.

"I have a question for you," Arthur continued, slowly withdrawing a folded up piece of paper from his pocket. He'd used the hospital computers to find a picture of Raife Davies and had printed it off before he came to visit Ashley. He unfolded the paper and held it up for Ashley to see. "Is this your father?" It was a long shot and he knew it.

"Daddy," Ashley breathed, her face softening to that of a vulnerable child. She reached out towards the picture only to be stopped by the soft restraints around her wrists.

Arthur leaned forward, offering the picture to her. "It's alright, you can have it," he prompted the hesitant girl. Ashley eyed him a moment before quickly snatching it right out of his hand. "I believe this is yours as well," he said, holding up the necklace he'd taken from Ralph.

"Mine!" Ashley exclaimed in a voice that had been roughened by years of disuse. She started to whine and whimper anxiously as the necklace that had not once left her neck in eleven years was being dangled out of her reach.

"Would you like me to put it back on you?"

Arthur knew that he was taking a huge risk, he'd seen what Ashley had done to Dr. Pinket's hand. When Ashley didn't object to his suggestion, he moved from his seat, approaching her carefully, ready to retreat at the slightest sign of aggression. But the dark haired girl displayed none, she seemed content to lay there as he secured the chain around her neck. The only difficulty he encountered came from the girl's matted hair.

Arthur had been backing away from Ashley when the door opened and Dr. Pinket entered the room. Immediately, Ashley was on edge, growling and straining against her restraints. The doctor went white and kept a clear distance from the snarling girl.

"We have her test results back," he spoke directly to Arthur. "Against all odds, her blood work shows no sign of disease or infection."

Arthur blinked in surprise. Eleven years living in the wild and she hadn't picked up a single thing? "You're sure?"

"I had them run it twice," Pinket informed him, absently rubbing his injured hand. "They're all clear. And she doesn't seem to be caring any parasites on her either. Aside from the physical deformity, she appears to be in perfect health."

"Physical deformity?"

"Well, after spending so long walking on all fours, the tendons in her arms and legs have shortened significantly. In their current state, it would be physically impossible for her to even stand on two legs."

_That's right,_ Arthur thought._ Reverend Singh encountered the same thing with Kamala and Amala. He managed to loosen the limbs through massage and get the girls walking again. There's no reason that, in this day and age, the same thing wouldn't be possible through massage and physiotherapy._ He nodded at the doctor and then turned to Ashley. "I'm just going outside to talk to the doctor, I'll come back to see you soon," he said, wanting to keep the girl informed.

Walking out with Dr. Pinket, Arthur chanced a look back over his shoulder and what he saw only further bolstered his determination that this girl be locked away. Ashley was gazing lovingly at the picture of her father, looking more human than anyone Arthur had ever met.

-

"So, what's the verdict?" Bob asked as the two men approached.

"She has a clean bill of health," Dr. Pinket told them. "It is my recommendation that she immediately be sent to an psychiatric institution for rehabilitation."

Arthur gritted his teeth at the man's narrow-mindedness. "I disagree."

"Arthur?" Bob turned to him.

"She can understand English, she can speak, she recognized her father," Arthur listed. "She doesn't need to be locked up."

"And what is it that you suggest she needs?" Dr. Pinket said, snidely.

"A family." It was as simple as that.

Dr. Pinket couldn't help but laugh. "And where do you think you're going to find a foster family willing to take her in?"

Arthur smiled serenely. Pinket was just making the decision easier with every word that spilled out of his mouth. "I'll have to speak to my wife, but I think that I've already found one."

TBC


	2. Love Dog

**Chapter 2 - Love Dog  
**

"Come on, Spencer, he really likes you," Glen begged his sister as they walked up the long dirt road that led to their house. For some, unfathomable, reason Daniel Wilkes had taken quite a shine to Spencer, which worked out great for Glen because he had a crush on Daniel's sister. So Danny had made him a deal, if Glen could convince Spencer to go out on a date with Danny, Danny would put in a good word with his sister for Glen. It was a foolproof plan, and yet…

"I don't care, Glen. I am not going out with Danny Wilkes," Spencer practically growled. It was bad enough that the aforementioned basketball player wouldn't stop staring at her on the bus ride home and now he was getting her brother to do his dirty work. Danny Wilkes had future stalker material written all over him. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop trying to pimp me out to your basketball buddies."

"Why? It's not like you're going to get a date anywhere else," he snarked, opening the front door to his home. The siblings stopped in their tracks as the mouth-watering smell of roast lamb hit them full force.

"It's not Sunday, is it?" he mumbled dumbly. Although having a roast on Sunday's was a Carlin family tradition, having it during the week was always reserved for the occasions when their parents wanted to soften the blow of bad news. The last time they'd had a roast during the week, Paula had announced that their Grandma Spencer was coming to stay with them for a whole month.

"We were just at school, Glen," Spencer reminded her brother.

"Kids? Can you come in here for a minute," their mother called from the living room. The siblings exchanged worried looks and skulked into the living room to find Paula sitting and their father standing, holding one end of a leash that was attached to the dog collar being worn by the young girl who was sitting at his feet, tugging at the scrubs shirt she had been forced into wearing with her teeth.  
_  
Hot naked girl!_ Spencer recognized the girl instantly. While her brother's thought ran more along the lines of_ Oh God, they're so going to start talking about their secretly kinky sex life! I'm gonna puke._

"Uh, Dad, what's with the whole…" Glen gestured to the whole bondage set up.

"I'll explain everything in a moment. First, I'd like you two to introduce yourselves to Ashley. When you do, hold your hand out in a fist in front you, let her learn your scent," Arthur instructed. He knew that within a wolf pack, smell was the primary sense used to identify it's members. "Glen, why don't you go first."

_Okay, this is freaky beyond the telling of it._ Glen shuddered in disgust and reluctantly approached the girl. "Hey, I'm Glen," he said flatly. _This is so stupid._

Ashley cautiously sniffed his outstretched hand, then turned her face away in disinterest.

"Uhh," Glen uttered, unsure of what to do next.

"Go and sit with your mother," Arthur told his confused son. "Spence, come here."  
_  
She's even prettier up close,_ Spencer thought as she approached, willing her palms not to sweat. The nurses had cut off the unsalvageable parts of Ashley 's hair, leaving her with tussled, shoulder length locks that still needed some untangling. _She even looks good in scrubs. Nobody looks good in scrubs._ "H-Hi, I'm Spencer," she stuttered, getting flustered as she remembered exactly what was under those scrubs.

Ashley brightened, recognizing the girls delicious scent from the day before. Arthur thought that if she had a tail, it would be wagging. Ashley was sniffing Spencer's hand, trying to take in as much of her scent as she could, when her another overwhelmingly intoxicating smell flooded her senses and made her head swim. She wanted more, so Ashley lunged forward, burying her face in the source.

Spencer yelped and went bright red when Ashley unexpectedly started nuzzling her face into her crotch. As enjoyable as the feeling was, this so was not the way she wanted to come out to her family. She stumbled back, away from Ashley, clearing her throat frantically.

Ashley let out a whine and tried to follow her but was stopped by Arthur tugging back on her leash.

"Shut up, Glen," Spencer hissed at her snickering brother as she joined him and her mother on the couch,

"I think she likes you."

This time Spencer just punched him in the arm.

"Spencer, don't hit your brother," chided Paula.

"He started it!"

"Children," Arthur said warningly, noticing Ashley starting to become agitated by all the yelling. "Now I suppose you're wondering what's going on."

"I don't think I want to know," mumbled Glen.

"Yesterday, when Spencer…had her accident, she mentioned to me about there being a girl with the wolves."

"You didn't say anything about it to me." Paula frowned, wondering why her daughter hadn't confided in her.

Spencer shrugged sheepishly. "I thought you'd think I was seeing things."

"And today, park rangers were attempting to relocate a pack of wolves that have been terrorizing local farmers. They tracked the wolves back to their den and that's where they found Ashley."

"Wait, so she was living with the wolves?" Glen asked. "That's awesome!" Arthur looked pointedly at his son. "Or not."

"We believe that Ashley has been living with them since she was a child. And now she's going to be staying with us for a while. Don't worry, you're perfectly safe around her. Unless she's provoked, she appears to be rather harmless. What we hope is that by simply interacting with people, she'll pick up more human characteristics."

"So, she's going to be living with us?" Spencer asked, trying not to giveaway how excited she was.

"That's right." Arthur paused, pondering how to phrase his next question. "Now we're going to need someone to help Ashley with her grooming-"

"Like brushing her hair?"

"Yes, and bathing-"

Glen's hand shot up. "I'll do it!"

Arthur chuckled . "I don't think it would be appropriate for either of us to do it, Glen. Spencer, you're the one she seems to be the most comfortable with, how do you feel about doing it?"

_Yes! Yes! Yes!_ "Um, I suppose I could give it a try," she said cooly.

"Good. They gave her a scrub down at the hospital but I'm thinking that a bath after dinner wouldn't go astray."

Spencer looked at Ashley who's eyes hadn't once strayed from the blonde. _Oh fuck yes_. "Okay."

"Alright, now I'm going to let her off the leash. It's important that we don't overwhelm her with attention and that she acclimatizes to her new surroundings at her own pace. So unless she approaches you, just pretend that she isn't here. Any questions?"

"What do we do if she starts humping Spencer's leg?"

"Glen!" Spencer squealed.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Glen," his mother said pointedly.

"What?" You didn't have to be a genius to see the way that the brunette was looking at Spencer. "It's a legitimate question!"

-

"Uh, dad, Ashley's eating the dog food," Glen informed his father, who was busy putting the finishing touches on dinner.

Arthur looked over to find Ashley chowing down on the kibble that was always left out for Lance during the day.

"Spencer," he called out, getting the attention of the girl who was setting the table. "Could you-"

Spencer nodded and set the stack of plates in her hands down on the table. "Ashley," she said sweetly. Instantly, she had the older girl's attention. "Come here."

Ashley obediently padded over to Spencer, happy to do whatever the blonde asked her to.

"That's not for you, Ash. It's for Lance. You get to eat with us now. You're going to be eating people food," Spencer explained. She stole a slice of the roast lamb that her father was carving up and held it out. "Here, taste it."

Ashley stuck her head forward and sniffed the meat cautiously then bit into it, tearing off a chunk.

"Good?" Spencer asked, smiling.

Ashley grunted, still chewing, and nodded her approval.

"Can she talk?" Glen asked, watching the exchange with great interest.

"Well," Arthur began, wiping his hands on a tea towel. "She was about five years old when she was taken, so she can understand most of what we're saying and she has a pretty basic vocabulary. But she hasn't spoken in so long that she probably finds it difficult to form words, let alone complete sentences. I hope that by spending time around us, she'll start speaking more."

"Cool." Glen gleefully began compiling a mental list of swear words he could teach Ashley.

"Don't even think about it," Paula warned, knowing exactly what was going on in her son's head.

"But-"

"No."

-

Dinner went well. As well as it could with one of the participants having to sit on the floor, at least. As usual, Paula had to leave for work straight after, leaving the cleaning up to the rest of the family.

Once that was done, Arthur retired to his study to re-read the Diary of Reverend Joseph Singh, confident that Ashley was in good hands with his children.

Ashley was content to sit with Lance and observe Spencer and Glen watching television.

"Spencer, the Cavs are playing," Glen complained as his sister commandeered the remote and flipped the channel over.

"Don't you get enough of baseball at school?"

"Basketball, Spencer. God."

Spencer just shrugged. She may have been a lesbian but she knew nothing about sports. "Whatever." She settled on a Gossip Girl repeat.

"Hell no." Glen snatched the remote out of his sister's hands to switch it back to the game.

"Glen!" Spencer tried to grab the remote back but Glen refused to let go. An impromptu wrestling session broke out between the siblings over the remote, as it did almost every night. But this not a normal night.

When Glen's watch scratched Spencer's neck as he put her into a headlock, causing the blonde to cry out in pain, Ashley reaction was instantaneous. Every muscle in her body tensed as she prepared to leap to Spencer's defence should Glen not back off. The two Carlin's froze as they heard Ashley's snarl.

"Dad!" Glen yelled, for the first time he was realizing what a danger the girl posed.

Arthur poked his head in from the study and was alarmed at what he saw. "Glen, let go of your sister and back away from her. Slowly."

Glen swallowed hard and did as his father instructed, feeling Ashley's eyes on him the whole time.

Keeping her predatory gaze on Glen, Ashley clambered up onto the couch beside Spencer. It wasn't until she was sure that the boy was no longer a threat, that she finally took her eyes off him and fixated on Spencer instead.

Spencer couldn't stop the moan from coming out of her mouth when Ashley started soothing the tiny scratch with her tongue. In fact, she very nearly orgasmed on the spot.

"Spencer?" her father called out. Spencer didn't even notice. "Spencer!"

Spencer jumped. "What?"

"Maybe this is a good time for you to give Ashley her bath."

"Okay!"

-

Ashley's naked body was even more enticing up close, although Spencer was trying her hardest not to look at her that way. Even though she was slightly on the malnourished side, Ashley wasn't skeletally thin by any means, but lean and wiry with defined muscles that had been enhanced through the constant exercise of running with her pack.  
_  
Stop looking at her boobs!_ Spencer firmly instructed herself, as she massaged shampoo into Ashley's hair. _Just keep your eyes on her face. Her pretty, pretty face.  
_  
While Spencer lusted over her, Ashley was having fun exploring the unfamiliar bathtub. Sniffing anything she could get her paws, er, hands on. She sniffed the opening of the shampoo bottle and sneezed as the pungently sweet smell of wildflowers assaulted her delicate nostrils. It made Spencer laugh, so she did it again and would've kept doing it, if Spencer hadn't taken the bottle away from her.

So Ashley busied herself with trying to drown the rubber duck that was floating in the water alongside her, getting frustrated when the yellow object wouldn't stay underwater. Just when Ashley was starting to think that this was so much better than playing in the creek, Spencer accidentally got shampoo in her eyes.

Ashley whimpered, blinking rapidly against the stinging pain as she teared up, not knowing what else to do.

"Crap!" Spencer exclaimed, realizing what she had done. "Sorry! I am so sorry. Here." She wiped Ashley face clean. "Better?"

Now that the pain was gone, Ashley hummed happily and went back to drowning the rubber duckie.

Spencer went about carefully rinsing the shampoo from Ashley's hair, contemplating the strange bond that she had formed with the feral girl. She wondered what if they'd met under different circumstances? What if Ashley had been raised by people instead of wolves? Would she have felt the same connection? Would they have ever met? _Maybe this is fate, perhaps we were supposed to meet this way._

She looked up to find Ashley studying her curiously, and wondered if the brown eyed girl felt what she felt, or if Ashley was even capable of it.

"Since we're going to be spending a lot of time together, I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself," Spencer began, feeling foolish. She didn't even know if Ashley understood a word that was coming out of her mouth, despite what her father had said. "I'm sixteen, the same age as you, I think. I'm a junior at Sheridan High School and…and I'm gay. Wow, I've never actually said that out loud before," she rambled. Then she realized that if her vocabulary was limited to that of a five year old girl's, Ashley probably didn't even know what that meant. "It means that I like girls."

Ashley's face didn't hold a hint of anger or disgust, the reactions Spencer had always imagined she'd encounter once she finally came out. But how could it? Ashley hadn't been raised in a society that believed being gay was a sin.

Sensing Spencer's suddenly sombre mood, Ashley's gaze turned sympathetic and she tried to cheer the other girl up the only way she knew how, by licking her.

Spencer giggled nervously as Ashley lapped clumsily at her cheek. "You sure like licking, don't you?" As soon as she said it, her mind was in the gutter, imagining all the ways that Ashley's fondness for licking could be put to use. _You are a bad person, Spencer Carlin._ She could feel herself blushing again. "Uh, let's get you dried off."

-

It had taken some coaxing to get Ashley out of the tub but eventually, with the help of some leftover lamb from dinner, Spencer got her out and managed to rub her down with a towel, the best she could with her eyes closed. It was when it came time to put on the shirt and shorts that had been picked out for Ashley to sleep in that the trouble began.

Ashley hated clothes. Spencer didn't blame her, she guessed that if she had spent eleven years not wearing any then she would too. Although Ashley never showed even a hint of aggression towards the gentle blonde, she still did her best to make the job of clothing her a difficult one.

By the time Ashley was dressed, Spencer was exhausted. She flopped back on the tiled floor and watched Ashley try to tug the singlet, Spencer had just managed to get on her, off with her teeth. Suffice it to say that she wasn't having very much luck.

"I like your necklace," Spencer said, bringing the brunette's attention back to her. "Did your parents give it to you?"

"Daddy. Mine," Ashley's voice rumbled low in her chest. Spencer nearly fainted. _Even her voice is sexy! This is so not fair._

Spencer reached forward and rubbed the tarnished metal between her fingers. "It's pretty."

"Spencer pretty."

It was like somebody set a flock of butterflies loose in Spencer's stomach and she knew that once again, she was blushing. "I,uh…I- we should go to my room…so I can brush your hair," she stuttered out, having a hard time thinking straight. _Come on, Spencer, she said that you were pretty. It was hardly a declaration of love. Get a grip. You know that it would never work between the two of you_, the rational part of her brain reminded her. _Although it did work for Tarzan and Jane,_ Okay, maybe not so rational. _You've gotta admit it would be hot._

"Shut up, brain," Spencer mumbled to herself, making Ashley frown at her. Is there any expression that doesn't look good on this girl? Spencer thought and then realized that there was one that she hadn't seen yet. She had never seen Ashley smile.

-

That night, Ashley slept soundly, curled up with Lance at the foot of Spencer's bed. The Carlins' had tried to get her to sleep in the bed in the guest bedroom but Ashley had found the hard floor and fluffy coat of their dog, far more comfortable than the unfamiliar softness of a mattress and blankets.

"We should get her a flea collar," Glen said, looking at Ashley who was still sleeping beside the large Husky even though the day was almost half over.

"Lance doesn't have fleas." Spencer turned away from her computer to frown at her brother.

"If you say so."

"What do you want, Glen?"

"Can I use your computer? Jason sent me this totally sweet video-"

"Why can't you just use your own?"

"Uh, it's not exactly working at the moment," Glen admitted, ducking his head.

"Let me guess, one too many videos from Jason?"

Glen grimaced. "Something like that."

"No."

"Spencer, come on, it's not like you're doing anything important."

"How would you know?" Spencer said defensively. "You've been in here for like five seconds."

"Fine. What were you doing that was so important?"

Spencer let out a long suffering sigh. "For your information, I'm doing research on wolves. I thought it might help us to understand Ashley better."

Glen walked over to Spencer and leant against the back of her chair. "You're looking up wolves on wikipedia, I'd hardly call that indepth research."

"I'm just getting started!" Spencer said in frustration. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? "Besides it has some information that already explains some things about her. Like that wolves are mostly nocturnal and sleep during the day, and that they mate for life-"

"What does them mating for life have to do with Ashley?" Glen asked in confusion.  
_  
Her behavior towards me for a start._ "Ahhh, nothing. I'm just saying that wikipedia is pretty helpful in this case, is all. It has a lot of information."

"Whatever," Glen sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be seeing Two Girls and A Pizza Delivery Guy, anytime soon. "Just hurry it up. Mom and Dad want us to have family time later."

"Oh God," Spencer groaned. "Not Scategories again."

Glen shook his head solemnly. "I heard something about watching a movie."

"Ew." The last movie they had all watched together during family time had been Air Bud 4 and that was just last week. For some reason their parents, or their mother at least, seemed to think that they were still ten years old.

"That's what I'm saying. So can I please-"

"No."

"Fine," Glen huffed dramatically and left with his shoulders slumped. Spencer shook her head at her departing brother and brought up the other browser window. The one with Two Girls And A Pizza Delivery Guy on pause in it.

-

"Spencer, why don't you choose the movie," Paula said as they all settled down to watch a movie together. Ashley included.

Spencer looked up from her position on the floor next to Ashley, where she had been playing with the other girl's hair while they engaged in an intense round of eye fucking. "Huh?" she uttered, dazed.

"We're letting you pick the movie, sweetheart." Arthur came in carrying a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn and took a seat next to his wife.

"Oh." _Guess that guilt trip is still working in my favor._ Spencer crawled across the floor to the cabinet underneath the television where the dvd's were kept. Of course, this was a mistake as Ashley thought that the blonde was presenting herself for mating.

Spencer was hunched over on all fours, debating between Stick It and John Tucker Must Die, when she felt a mouth gently latch onto the back her neck to hold her in place and a slight weight settle against her back.

"Oh my God!" Paula gasped while Glen laughed hysterically at the sight of his sister being humped by Ashley in the middle of the living room floor. "Arthur, what is she doing?"

The dark haired man was at a loss for words. "Asserting dominance, I think…" he trailed off lamely, hoping that his wife would by his bullshit excuse.

"Well, shouldn't we stop it?" she asked shrilly.

Arthur shrugged helplessly. "She might end up hurting Spencer if we try. I think it'd be best to just…let her ride it out." Spencer certainly didn't seem to be bothered by it, in fact she looked like she was rather enjoying herself.

"I'm going to show this every year at Christmas," Glen sighed happily, catching all the action on his camera phone. _And I am going to go to hell for it._

-

The next morning was a Sunday morning and while the rest of the Carlins attended church, Paula stayed behind with Ashley, sighting that she had already been to mass on Wednesday as a valid excuse not to go.

Finally, she had some alone time with the girl who had turned their household upside down. Not that she blamed the poor thing, of course, in fact she felt incredibly sympathetic towards Ashley and her situation. But that didn't mean that she was going to mollycoddle the girl either. Especially when her impressionable young daughter was involved.

She found Ashley sitting by the window, anxiously waiting for the rest of the family to come home. "Hello Ashley," Paula said sweetly, approaching the girl with a large bible in her hands. "Today, we're going to have a little talk about Jesus."

-

TBC


	3. A Not So Virgin State Of Mind

**Chapter 3 - A Not So Virgin State Of Mind**

Over the next few weeks, thanks to intensive physiotherapy to stretch all of her shortened tendons, Ashley had made significant progress. She could stand up straight and walk on two feet for short periods of time, however her gait was jerky and unnatural, so she still preferred to walk on all fours.

And she still spent all her time following Spencer around like, for lack of better words, a lost puppy.

Glen watched Ashley disappear up the stairs with his sister and turned to Lance who was sitting in the corner, staring dejectedly at his tennis ball. Ever since Ashley arrived the old dog had been severely neglected by his blonde owner. "I know how you feel buddy," Glen said sympathetically, giving the Husky's head a quick rub. Lance perked up, thinking that finally someone was going to play with him. But it wasn't to be.

Hopping over the dog, Glen moved to his secret hiding place, nearly drooling at the thought of what he had stashed away in there. It was practically impossible for anyone to keep chocolate for themselves in the house, now that Spencer had Ashley to sniff it out for her, but he had managed to smuggle a Snickers bar in the day before and successfully kept it hidden.

Tucking the chocolate away in his pocket, he crept up the stairs to his bedroom where he could enjoy his candy in peace.

"Mine?"

"Ah!" Glen jumped at the unexpected voice. He over the edge of his bed to see Ashley sitting there, looking at the Snickers in his hand expectantly. "What? No. This is mine."

Ashley looked confused. "Mine."

"No," Glen corrected, cradling the candy bar protectively to his chest. "Mine."

"Mine," Ashley repeated firmly.

Glen sighed, realizing that this was a fight that he was not going to win. "Here, have it." He held the chocolate out for Ashley, who took it between her teeth and exited his room.

-

She padded into Spencer's room, hopped up onto the bed, and dropped the candy bar into Spencer's lap.

"Aww, Ashley, that's so sweet," Spencer cooed. This was way better than the time Ashley had gifted her with a dead rat. "Thank you."

Ashley was rewarded with a kiss. Over the short time they had been living together, her relationship with Spencer had also progressed to the point where Spencer totally considered the older girl to be her secret girlfriend.

"I so need this after the day I had at school. You're so lucky that you never have to go, Ash. Stacey was making this huge deal about the cheer squad's pom poms, apparently they were too blue or something," Spencer started to babble about her day at school to Ashley, who, as always, was listening intently to every word that came out of the blonde's mouth. Spencer loved her for it. Actually Spencer loved the brown eyed girl for many reasons; over the short period of time that Ashley had been with them, Spencer had become completely smitten with pretty much everything about her. "But everyone knows that what she's really upset about is Brad telling everyone that she was a bad lay after she dumped him."

Ashley frowned, picking up on Spencer's non-verbal cues that this wasn't considered acceptable behavior. "That's not nice."

"Exactly! And you know what makes it even worse? He was the first guy she ever did it with. I swear, she'll be scarred for the rest of her life. Guys are such dicks."

Ashley nodded in agreement. "Douchebags."

Spencer flopped down on the bed beside the brunette. "Glen's been teaching you words again, hasn't he," she sighed and looked over at Ashley. _God, she is so beautiful._ She reached out and touched Ashley's face, who preened under the attention and looked at her with adoring eyes.

This whole thing with Stacey had got her thinking. As constantly horny as she was, Spencer still wanted her first time to be special. She wanted her first time to be with someone she loved, not with some random person she got too drunk around at a party, and she loved Ashley, so why shouldn't they have sex.

So far, they hadn't progressed too far beyond kissing and, obviously, dry humping. (Spencer had learned very quickly to never bend over in front of Ashley, especially while naked.) But Spencer had a feeling that was all about to change. No, she knew that was all about to change.

Her mind was made up. _After tonight, I'm not going to be the only virgin in my class anymore._

-

"You okay?" Glen asked the next morning, noticing that Spencer walking kind of funny as they descended the stairs to the bottom floor of their home. "You're walking weird."

"Yeah," Spencer said, turning bright red. "I, uh, I think I pulled a muscle or something…in my groin."

"Oh." _Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut? Now I'm going to be thinking about Spencer's groin all day. Damn._ "Well, you should put some ice on it," he muttered awkwardly before speeding up and leaving his gimpy sister behind on the stairs.

Spencer cringed as she took another step down. But she didn't blame Ashley for the pain that she was in, Ashley didn't know to she had to be gentle when taking a girl's virginity. And Spencer had to admit the lingering pain was so worth it. She had never come so hard in her life.

She heard the now familiar fall of foot and handsteps behind her and couldn't fight the smile that spread across her face. "Hey Ash," Spencer said bashfully.

Ashley didn't reply but that was okay. She rarely had to use words to express herself and around Spencer. Spencer could read the older girl's eyes and face like a book.

Ashley did, however, notice Spencer's discomfort and nuzzled her hand apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Spencer assured her, running her hands through Ashley's thick, dark curls. "In a couple of hours it won't even hurt anymore." Ashley remained unconvinced. It hurt her to know that she had caused her Spencer pain. "Come on, we'll be late for breakfast."

The mention of breakfast was all it took to snap Ashley out of her protective funk. She patiently escorted Spencer down the stairs and followed her into the dining room.

Thanks to the physio, Ashley could now sit properly in a chair, although it still hurt her back to do so for long periods, and she had started using her fingers to eat with, as she still found cutlery far too difficult to deal with.

Spencer watched Ashley wolf down the pancakes her father had set before her, unable to believe that this beautiful creature was hers. Since being with the Carlins, Ashley had steadily gained weight, pleasantly filling out her formerly gaunt features and thanks to regular washing and brushing, her hair had flourished into illustrious chestnut curls that framed her angelic face. And that wasn't even mentioning the rest of her sinewy body.

Spencer beamed at her when Ashley looked up from her food and Ashley happily returned the gesture. _God, even her smile is perfect,_ she sighed internally, turning to mush. _Wait, smile?  
_  
"Ashley's smiling," she blurted out, getting the attention of the rest of her family. Ashley had never smiled before. It was Arthur's theory that it was impossible for wolves to make the expression, so over the years of living amongst them, the young girl must have simply forgotten how. _And all it took for her to remember was having sex with me. I must be totally awesome in bed._

"That is excellent, Ashley," Arthur praised the girl who's smile was now so big that it was bordering on cheesy. "I think that you deserve more pancakes." And Ashley's smile got even bigger.

"I smile all the time and I don't get extra pancakes," Glen complained. At first, he thought having Wolf Girl around was going to be awesome but then his parents had forbid him from even breathing a word about her to his friends, or anybody else for that matter. And what good was having a girl that was raised by wolves living with you if you couldn't brag about it.

So he had kept his mouth shut and where had that gotten him? Nowhere. Everyone else in the family heaped praise on Ashley for everything she did and Spencer never wanted to spend time with him anymore and he was still keeping the secret. He didn't know how much longer he could take it.

-

It was a Tuesday when Glen finally cracked. Half of the basketball team had been hanging out at lunch, bragging about the wildest, craziest, downright nastiest girls they'd been with and it just slipped out.

"I don't think that they get any wilder than the girl I've got at home."

"Your sister?" Joey, the centre who everyone thought had exchanged his brains for his height in the creation process, asked dumbly.

Glen punched him in the leg for even thinking about Spencer that way. "No dumbass."

"Whoever she is, she cannot possibly be wilder than Daisy Fuller," Billy Stewart bragged. "That girl was into some kinky shit and I have the scars on my back to prove it."

Glen smirked at his frenemy. "You want to talk about wild, this girl was raised by wolves."

"Bullshit!" Jason exclaimed. "You're full of it, Carlin."

Glen held his hands up placatingly. "If I'm lying, I'm dying guys," he said smugly. "Why don't you come round to my place after school and you can meet her." _Why am I still talking? What the hell did I just do? I can't believe I just did that! Oh crap, I have such a bad feeling about this._

-

In his defence, Glen had tried to get out of it. Sure, suddenly remembering that he had a dentist appointment wasn't the best excuse in the world but he had made the effort. However, Billy and Jason weren't going to let him off the hook that easily. They wanted to see this so called Wolf Girl for themselves.

Glen sunk low in the leather seat of Billy's Mustang as they roared up the long driveway to his house. He was going to be in so much trouble when his parents found out what he had done. And that's not even mentioning what Spencer was going to do to him. She was home sick that day, so she was definitely going to find out.

Billy pulled the car to a stop outside the Carlin home and took an exaggerated look around the front yard. "Well? Where is she? I don't see her tied to a pole anywhere."

"Funny," Glen remarked dryly, unclipping his seatbelt. "She's probably asleep in Spencer's room. Stay here, I'll go and get her." _Maybe I can get away with telling Spencer that I'm just taking Ashley for a walk._

"You've got five minutes Carlin," Jason warned, eyeing him suspiciously from the back seat.

Glen nodded and jumped out of the car. He stealthily opened and closed the front door to the house, thinking that if Spencer was sleeping then he might actually be able to get Ashley out of her room without her ever knowing.

He crept up the stairs and commando crawled along the hallway until he got to Spencer's room where her door was left just slightly ajar. He pushed it open slightly and stuck his head in. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, after being confronted with a sight he had never expected, or wanted, to see.

"Glen, get out!" Spencer screeched, scrambling to cover her naked body with her bed sheets.

"Sorry!" Glen stumbled back, pulling the door shut, still shocked by seeing his baby sister having something done to her by Ashley that he had only ever seen in porn.

Still in a daze, he ran downstairs, almost tripping along the way, and got rid of Billy and Jason by making up some bullshit excuse about Ashley not being home. He knew that they didn't believe them but right then he didn't care.

Somehow, he ended up on his back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was too scared to close his eyes, the image of Ashley and his sister was burned onto the back of his eyelids. _That did not just happen. It couldn't have._

There was a knock and Glen turned his head to find Spencer standing meekly in his doorway.

"I suppose I should be thankful that you have clothes on," he remarked bitterly.

"You weren't supposed to see that."

"No shit."

Spencer stepped into the room and took up position at the end of his bed, wringing her hands together nervously. "You can't tell Mom and Dad-"

"Are you kidding me?" Glen shouted angrily.

Spencer was shaken by her brother's outburst. " Please don't be upset."

"How am I supposed to feel, Spencer? I just walked in on Wolf Girl…g-going down my baby sister!" he ranted, red faced and gesturing wildly.

"Don't call her that!"

Glen shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Shouting wasn't going to get them anywhere. "What are you doing, Spencer?" he asked quietly. "Ashley is not some sex toy that you can just use to get off."

Spencer was highly offended by her brother's accusation. "That is so not how it is. I love Ashley and she loves me."

"How do you know that? Ashley doesn't even talk."

"She talks to me," Spencer protested. "Look, I know it's weird and I don't expect you to understand it. I don't even understand it. But I love her. I do."

Glen sighed as his sister's eyes started to tear up. "I'm just worried about you, Spence."

"Because she's a girl?"

"No. I don't care about that." Given his enjoyment of lesbian pornography, if he did it would make him some kind of hypocrite. "She was raised by wolves, Spence. She's unpredictable at the best of times. What if you're in the middle of…you know, and she flips out and hurts you."

"She won't," Spencer said with absolute conviction. "She would never hurt me."

"You don't know that."

"I do. It even says on wikipedia that wolves mate for life. Well, Ashley thinks that I'm her mate, she won't hurt me, she'll protect me."

"Well if it's on wiki then it must be true," Glen muttered sarcastically.

"I really do love her, Glen," Spencer said pleadingly.

The blond softened at his sister's heartfelt confession. "Okay, I won't tell Mom and Dad. But you have to promise me that you'll be careful with her."

"Thank you!" Spencer squealed, diving on her brother to give him an impromptu hug. "You're the best big brother a girl could ask for."

"You know, if you really wanted to thank me, you can do my math homework."

Spencer drew back from the hug. "I don't think so, Glen."

-

**Two days later…**

"Ash, come back to bed," Spencer mumbled sleepily as she felt the older girl slip out of her arms and the bed. As she slowly grew more alert she realized that, for the first time in weeks, Ashley was growling. "What's wrong?"

Ashley jerked her head towards the window that faced the front of the house, her growls increasing in volume.

Spencer frowned and got out of bed to peer out the window. "Oh crap," she breathed, taking in all the vehicles that littered the driveway. Off the top of her head, Spencer could identify the vans of three different television channels.

"Come on, Ash." Spencer pulled her growling lover away from the window before any of the reporters on the ground could spot her. _This is bad. This is so very bad._

-

"Maybe they're not here about Ashley," Glen suggested nervously. The whole family had gathered in Paula and Arthur's bedroom, the only place that was safe from the press and their cameras, to discuss the media circus that was still growing outside.

"Why else would we have reporters camping out in our front yard?" Spencer tightened her arms around Ashley's neck to try and keep her calm. The brunette was growing more and more anxious, and the tension pouring off her could be felt by everyone else in the room.

"Maybe we won the lottery."

"I highly doubt that," said Paula.

"Bob's on his way over," Arthur announced, coming back into the room with his cell phone in hand. "He said that he was woken up this morning by a phone call asking for confirmation that we've found Ashley Davies. Somebody's leaked this to the press."

"Who would do that?" Spencer wondered out loud . This was going to ruin everything.

"I don't know, Spence," Her father said, looking at Ashley, sadly. He knew exactly what this would mean for the girl. "I really don't know."

-

Soon, Bob arrived, pushing his way through the crowd of journalists and responding to every question thrown at him with a firm no comment.

"It's turning into a three ring circus out there," Arthur commented, closing the door behind his boss.

"Whoever it was must've tipped off every news outlet in the state," Bob grumbled. "How is she?"

"Extremely agitated. Spencer's trying to calm her down." Faced with being surrounded by so many strangers, Ashley had begun reverting back to her more animalistic characteristics. Arthur just hoped that this episode didn't have any lasting adverse affects on her recovery. "It'd probably be best if you kept your distance from her. She doesn't like strangers at the best of times."

"Of course." Bob understood completely.

Arthur led Bob up the stairs and into the room with the rest of the family.

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal. I mean, yeah, girl who was raised by wolves is news but it's not this big," Glen said.

Bob and Arthur exchanged weary looks. "I think it's time we filled you kids in on the full story," Arthur began.

"The full story?" Spencer asked in confusion.

Arthur nodded. "Your both too young to remember the story about Raife Davies-"

"I've heard of him," Glen interrupted. "He was in some metal band in the eighties, right?"

"That's right. Well, eleven years ago, in an ill conceived attempt to save his marriage, Raife Davies took his wife and five year old daughter camping, not to far from here. Three days later, their camp was found in ruins as were the remains of Raife and his wife."

Spencer gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"There was no sign of his daughter," her father continued. "An extensive search was launched, it went on for two weeks and found no trace of the girl. Everyone assumed that she had died somewhere out in the forest. Now we know that this wasn't the case."

"You mean, Ashley is…" Spencer trailed off.

"Ashley Davies," Bob finished. "DNA tests seem to have confirmed it. Because no body was ever found, the fortune Ashley was to inherit upon her parents demise was put into trust until her eighteenth birthday. It was stipulated that if she hadn't turned up or her remains had been found before then, then the money would go to charity. However, if she was found alive before that time then the money would be used for her care until she reached adulthood."

"So Ashley's rich then?" asked Spencer, raking her hand through Ashley's chocolate curls soothingly as the brunette trembled in her arms.

"That's putting it mildly. Between her rockstar father and heiress mother, it's estimated that her trust fund sits somewhere around the hundred million dollar mark."

"Whoa," Glen breathed. _So we kinda did win the lottery.  
_  
"Indeed."

"I still don't understand how this could've leaked to the press," Paula said.

"Well the only people who knew Ashley's true identity were Arthur, myself and-"

"Ralph," said Arthur while looking out the window.

"Yes."

"No, I mean, Ralph just pulled up outside. Did you call him?"

"No." Bob frowned, joining Arthur at the window. "No, I didn't."

Ralph climbed out of his beat up Chevy Nova with his red hair slicked back and wearing his best clip on tie. He fought his way through the sea of reporters and took up position at the top of the Carlins' front steps.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called for the reporters attention. "I'm glad you could all come at such short notice."

"Is it true?" One of the reporters inquired. "Have you really found Ashley Davies?"

"Two months ago, park rangers discovered a girl living with wolves in the national park, it's our belief that she had been with them for over a decade. I am happy to announce that a DNA test has now proven, beyond doubt, that that girl was Ashley Davies."

This sent the press into a frenzy, reporters yelling questions over each other as they vied for the exclusive. The noise just caused Ashley to retreat even further into herself.

Bob turned to Arthur, his face like thunder. "Call the sheriff, I believe these journalists are trespassing on your property."

Arthur reached for the phone. "I thought that the DNA results hadn't come back yet."

"They were supposed to be delivered yesterday but I never got them. Ralph must've gotten to them first."

_That Ralph guy is so fired._ Glen thought. "At least we get the money now, right?" he asked, trying to look on the bright side of things.

"For some reason," Paula said, putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "I doubt it'll be that easy."

-  
TBC


	4. Prisoner Of Society

**Chapter 4 - Prisoner Of Society**

Paula was right.

Just when it looked like the media storm was about to die down, something came along to stir it all back up again.

Jane Woods of Baltimore, Maryland, came out claiming that her daughter, Kyla, was Raife Davies' illegitimate child and that she had the evidence to back it up. And now the Woods were trying to make a claim for Ashley's inheritance…and for Ashley.

"Arthur?"

Arthur looked up from the case notes that were spread out across his desk. "What is it, Silvia?" he asked the young receptionist.

"There's a Richard Woods out here, he's asking to see you."

Richard Woods, Kyla's stepfather and the driving force behind the Woods' campaign to get their hands on Ashley and her money.

"Show him in. Thanks."

He started cleaning up his desk as Silvia left, hiding the notes he'd made on Ashley away in his desk drawer. Arthur tried not to judge anybody without meeting them first, but he found himself already despising Richard Woods, just for what he'd seen and heard from him in the press. The guy made Michael Lohan look like father of the year.

"Arthur." Richard walked straight into the office with his hand extended. "It's good to finally meet you. Jane and Kyla send their apologies but Kyla couldn't miss the time off school."

Arthur nodded. "I understand, take a seat."

"Don't mind if I do," Richard laughed gregariously, sitting down opposite Arthur. Every inch of the man was fake, from his imitation leather jacket to the highlights in his hair.

"Dick," Arthur began. "May I call you Dick?"

"If that's what you feel like."

"Oh, it is. So Dick, I have to ask you, what are you doing in Ohio?"

"Well, Art, I'm here to start the proceedings to get custody of the girl, of course."

Arthur was stunned. He wasn't expecting this so soon. "On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that my step-daughter is her only living blood relative."

"That's she's never even met," Arthur pointed out indignantly. "Can I ask you what you're planning to do with Ashley, should you win custody of her?"

"We'll be putting her in a place where she can get the help she needs."

"She already is and you want to take her away from that," Arthur almost growled. "Let's cut the crap, you don't care about Ashley, you just want her money."

"And you don't? I suppose you're going to tell me that you're helping her out of the goodness of your heart, right?"

Arthur took a calming breath, it wouldn't do to lose his cool, even if Richard was the most infuriating person he had ever met. "I just want what's best for Ashley."

"Sure, sure," Richard agreed condescendingly. "You're Mother freaking Theresa." He pushed himself up, out of his chair. "I'll be filing the papers this afternoon. We'll see what the courts think is best for Allison."

"Her name is Ashley," Arthur corrected, seething.

Richard nodded graciously. "Ashley. You'd better get yourself a good lawyer, Art. I'll be seeing you real soon."

-

"So what does this mean?" Spencer asked, not taking her worried eyes off the sullen girl sitting beside her. Ashley seemed to be becoming more and more listless everyday. She'd even lost most of the weight, she'd only recently put on. "He can't take Ashley away from us, can he? She'd hate having to go and live with strangers."

Arthur, who'd just spent the last twenty minutes explaining the situation to his family, took a deep breath, bracing himself for his daughter's reaction to what he was about to reveal. "She wouldn't be living with the Woods, Spence. If Richard and Jane get custody, they'll have her placed in a psychiatric institution."

"That is just not acceptable," said Paula, angrily.

"But she's not even crazy," Glen added, frowning. Even if he didn't exactly approve of Spencer doing…whatever she did with Ashley, he knew that it wouldn't be fair for the brunette to be locked away in some nuthouse.

"But we're not going to let that happen," Spencer said firmly, refusing to entertain any other possibility. "Right Dad?"

Arthur answered the only way he truthfully could. "We'll do everything we can, Spence."

-

"You want some?" Spencer teased, waving a plate of cheesecake under Ashley's nose, trying to tempt the despondent girl to eat something. "It's yummy."

Ashley just looked at the blonde with sad brown eyes.

"Ash," Spencer sighed, setting the plate aside. She knelt down in front of the girl who was curled up on the couch. "What's wrong? Do you feel sick?" Ashley shook her head weakly. "Is it me? Did I do something-"

Ashley cut her off by licking the hand Spencer was using to stroke her face. Spencer cracked a smile and pressed their foreheads together. "So it's not me."

"My Spencer," Ashley muttered affectionately, allowing herself a small smile.

Spencer briefly turned away when the doorbell rang. "Stay here," she ordered Ashley, before kissing her the top of the older girl's head and getting up to answer it.

She knew that it was unlikely to be a reporter, they were mostly too focused on the Woods and their endless press conferences to care about the reclusive Carlins' but she still didn't want whoever it was seeing Ashley.

"Hello?" Spencer only opened the door far enough so that she could fit half her body through.

"Hi," the man on the doorstep greeted, flashing her what he thought was a charming smile. "You're Spencer, right? I'm Richard Woods, I'm here to see Ashley."

_Not a chance in hell, douchebag._ "Um, I don't think so. Maybe you should come back when my dad is home, Ashley's not here right now."

Richard smirked. "Then who's that I can hear growling?"

Spencer snuck a look behind her and found Ashley crouched there, ready to attack the man on the other side of the door.

"My dog," Spencer answered, turning back to face the man.

"That doesn't sound like any dog I've ever heard." Richard pushed against the door but Spencer was determined not to let him in. "I just want to get to know my daughter's sister, is that a crime?"

"You mean your step-daughter's sister, right?" Spencer corrected. She refused to let this vile excuse for a human being intimidate her. "And if you come in here then you'll be trespassing, so actually, it is."

Getting fed up with her snotty attitude, Richard seized Spencer roughly by the arm and pushed the door open fully. A split second later, he was flat on his back, struggling to keep Ashley's snapping jaws from closing around his neck.

"Get her off me!" he shouted at Spencer, who was just standing there, watching.

She shrugged dispassionately. "You said that you wanted to meet her." _He deserves everything that she does to him._

"Spencer!"

In all the commotion, nobody had noticed the rest of the Carlin family pulling up in their car.

"Help me!" Richard yelped, trying to dislodge Ashley from where she'd sunk her teeth deep into the flesh of his forearm.

Glen and Arthur sprung into action, grabbing Ashley by her collar and pulling her off the injured man.

Richard struggled to his feet, pressing a handkerchief against his arm to try and stop the blood that was flowing freely from the gaping wound that Ashley had left there. "My lawyers loved that," he hissed at them spitefully. Then he turned back to his rental car and signalled to the heretofore unnoticed passenger in it. "Did you get all that?"

The man in the car help up a video camera and gave him the thumbs up.

Looking dishevelled but still smug, Richard smirked at the Carlins and still frenzied Ashley. "I think I got what I came for," he said. "Clearly, the girl is a danger to the public. I'm sure that once they see that tape, any judge is going to agree that she should be locked away."

Handing the still snarling Ashley off to his children, Arthur took the man by his lapels and pulled him up until they were nose to nose. "You set this up ," he hissed. "You son of a bitch, you're lucky I don't attack you myself. Now get the hell off my property before I call the cops." Arthur threw him backwards, sending Richard stumbling back down the steps.

"Gladly," Richard chuckled, straightening his shirt. "Like I said, I've got what I came for."

-

"What was all that, Spencer?" Arthur addressed his daughter, being careful not to raise his voice, so as not to further agitate Ashley, who was just beginning to calm down.

"Ashley was just protecting me from that creep, Dad. It wasn't her fault," Spencer explained, cradling Ashley against her chest protectively. "He grabbed me first."

Arthur rubbed a hand across his tired face. "Be that as it may, I doubt that's what it'll look like on that tape."

"Wait," Glen interjected. "That fool grabbed you? We should've let Ashley kill him."

Spencer ignored her overprotective brother. "Dad, is this bad?"

Arthur knew exactly what she was talking about. "Richard Woods now has video evidence that Ashley is a danger to society and I have no doubt that he's going to use it. I don't think it can get much worse."

-

"I'm not going to let them take you away from us. From me," Spencer promised Ashley, as they curled up together on her bed.

Ashley could sense that her mate was upset and she hated it, so she tried to smile at her, knowing that seeing her smile always made Spencer happy. Although it didn't really have it's usual affect on her, Spencer appreciated the gesture.

"You're not happy here, are you. Not really." Spencer couldn't deny it any longer. As much as she loved having Ashley in her world, it was painfully obvious that Ashley was no longer enjoying being there. "You must miss your friends, your family."

Ashley grunted softly in agreeance and nuzzled Spencer's neck. "But like being with you." It was the longest sentence she'd said in weeks.

Spencer smiled softly. "I like being with too. I love you, Ash."

"Love you. You're my Spencer."

"Yeah, I am." Spencer hated this. She hated the thought of Ashley being locked up in an asylum somewhere, separated from everything she knew. _But is what we're doing to her any different? Sure, it's a much nicer cage but it's still a cage. We don't even let her go outside. It's not fair to her._ "And I'm going to take care of you, Ash. That asshole is never going to get his slimy hands on you," she swore.

Moving frenetically, lest she lose her courage, she got up and rifled through her closet until she found her favorite hoody. "Come here and put this on," she coaxed gently.

Ashley had become more adjusted to wearing clothes and stopped trying to take them off every chance she got. Spencer put the hoody on Ashley, gently zipped it up and smoothed her hands down Ashley's chest, admiring how good it looked on her. Black was definitely Ashley's colour and so was red, and yellow, and white…As Spencer drifted off into fantasy-land again, Ashley breathed in the strong scent of her mate on the garment surrounding her. She loved wearing Spencer's clothes.

Spencer looked the older girl over, wondering if Ashley would be warm enough in the track pants she was currently wearing. _I guess that they're going to have to do,_ she decided, as she got herself changed into something more suitable for what she had planned.

Once dressed, she shoved some extra supplies into her backpack and changed the batteries in her flashlight before attaching Lance's leash to the collar that still resided around Ashley's neck. "We have to be really quiet, okay?" she instructed her obedient girlfriend. "We don't want to wake anyone."

With ninja-like prowess, Spencer successfully led Ashley through the house and outside without making too much noise. There was a moment when she thought that Lance was going to bark at them and bust them for sure, but a warning growl from Ashley the big dog scuttling back to his bed.

The way Ashley perked up in the fresh air only confirmed to her that she was doing the right thing. Spencer looked out into the moonlit fields. _I don't know exactly where to find Ash's pack, but I have a good idea of where to start._

-

Ashley's mood improved the further they got into the woods, surrounded by all the familiar sights and sounds and smells. She pulled Spencer along as she followed the scent markers and tracked down her old pack.

Spencer made sure to pay attention to the route they were taking, knowing that she would have to find her own way back.

They emerged from the woods into a clearing and Ashley started yipping excitedly and pulling on her lead. Across the way, Spencer could make out the forms of several large wolves in the early morning light. She stopped dead in her tracks, remembering her last encounter with the wolves all too well.

When she realized that Spencer had stopped moving, Ashley stopped straining against her leash and obediently returned to her mate's side, looking up at Spencer in confusion. Why did they stop? Didn't Spencer want to meet her family?

Spencer futilely tried to stop the tears from her eyes as she knelt down, so that they were on the same level, and took Ashley's face in her hands. She studied the older girl's face, trying to memorize every detail, every feature, knowing that this may be the last time she ever saw her. She kissed Ashley one last time then removed the collar from around her lover's neck.

"You take care of yourself, okay," she barely managed to get out, she was so choked up with emotion. "Now go on." Spencer jerked her head in the pack's direction. Ashley frowned, not understanding why she was so upset, and touched Spencer's wet face.

"It's okay. Go and play with your family." This time the words were said with a smile. One that Ashley happily returned. If Spencer was smiling it meant that she was happy and that was good.

Ashley yipped joyfully and took off running towards her pack. But when she realized that Spencer was not following her, she skidded to a halt and turned back to look at the sobbing blonde in bewilderment. She was literally caught between her pack and her mate, her past and her future, and she had a choice to make.

-  
TBC


	5. A Movie Script Ending

**Chapter 5 - A Movie Script Ending**

"What happened then, Auntie Spencer?"

"Yeah, what'd Ashley do?"

Spencer looked down fondly at the two sets of bright blue eyes staring back up at her. Ryan and Kelly looked so much like her brother. It didn't matter how many times she told the six years old twins the story, edited for children, of course, they still always wanted to hear the ending.

"I think I know how it goes," her girlfriend said, ambling in on all fours with their two year old son clinging to her back like a baby koala. She waited until Spencer had a hold of Lance before standing up and stretching out her back, wincing when she felt a something pop. "That used to be a hell of a lot easier."

"You also used to be ten years younger, Ash."

Ashley growled and stuck her tongue out at Spencer, making the twins giggle. "Well I'm glad you two find it so amusing."

"Come on, Auntie Ash, tell us how it ends!" Ryan demanded.

"Alright, alright." She sat down next to Spencer on the couch. "Ashley chose to stay with Spencer, the bad man got in trouble with the police-" After being caught with six underage hookers and enough cocaine in his hotel room to make a Colombian drug lord's eyes bug out. "and went away and then Ashley and Spencer ended up living happily ever after. Right, Spence?"

"That sounds about right." There were huge gaps in the story, of course. Some parts were just not appropriate for little ears. The twins didn't need to hear about huge rift that their relationship caused between Spencer and her mother or what Ashley had to go through to get to where she was today. They just wanted their fairytale with a happy ending.

"Hey, what time did Glen say he and Stacey say they were coming around to pick the kids up?" Spencer asked, noticing the dusk was falling. Nobody had expected it to last, when Glen had picked Stacey up while she was on the rebound from Brad, but their relationship had defied expectations and now they were happily married with two beautiful children and another on the way.

"About seven. He said not to worry about feeding them, they were going to take them to Burger King."

"Burger King!" Kelly squealed happily.

"Oops, I don't think they were supposed to hear that." Ashley cringed, watching the twins chatter excitedly to each other. She turned her attention to her own child who was tugging on Spencer's hair. Lance had been named after the Carlin's beloved pet dog who'd had to be put down due to illness only a month before the baby was born. Both Spencer and Ashley thought that it would only be fitting to name their son after the animal who'd inadvertently brought them together.

Spencer shrugged, bouncing the toddler in her arms. "Glen'll get over it. And if he doesn't, just threaten to not let him use the go kart track anymore."

When Ashley had inherited her ridiculously large fortune, the first major splurge was on a house. Not just any house, either, but one with outdoor basketball courts and go kart track (at Glen's urging, of course), that backed onto the same woods that had been her home for eleven years.

A howl sounded in the distance and Ashley's head instinctively snapped in it's direction. She turned back to her wife with a hesitantly hopeful expression. "Can I-"

Spencer nodded her consent. "Go."

Ashley hesitated. "Are you going to be okay with the kids?"

"I'll be fine. Just make sure you're home in time for dinner."

Ashley's smile turned wolfish. "Will do." She kissed her wife's cheek and ruffled Lance's hair.

"Where are you going Auntie Ash?" Ryan questioned.

Ashley paused on her way out. "I'm going to go play with some old friends."

-  
**END**


End file.
